High Street

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT HIGH STREET - PAGE 2

According to a recent report, the retail real estate market recorded a deferment of more than 30% of retail mall space against the projected supply for the first half of the year. A fresh mall supply for H1 2012 stood at 2.27 million sq. ft. (msf). Approximately one million sq.ft of expected mall supply was deferred to second half of the year or next year. The overall vacancy rate for the major cities as of H1 2012 stood at 19.6% marginally higher than the previous quarter. Some prominent high streets across major cities recorded higher increase in rental values as against malls, reflecting the bent of interest amongst retailers for high street properties.

LONDON: The number of bookshops in the UK has halved in the past six years and nearly 600 towns have none at all, because of the rise of internet retailers and the growing popularity of e-readers, a new research has revealed. There were 2,178 high street bookshops left in Britain in July compared with 4,000 in 2005; a total of 580 towns do not have a single bookshop, according to the research carried out by Experian, a data company. Campaigners have warned that the loss of bookshops, coupled with threats to close thousands of libraries as part of council cuts, will lead to "book deserts" across large areas of the country, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.

MUMBAI: Tata-owned Tanishq jewellery will expand on high street with bigger retail formats of 2,000-10,000 square feet over the next couple of years. "Out of 30 additional outlets planned by Tanishq, 20-odd outlets in high street would be big in size while seven to eight outlets of 1,000-2,000 square feet will come up in malls," Tanishq COO C K Venkatraman said. Customer expectations are for bigger spaces, therefore, growing mall culture is not a big growth driver for us, he added.

PUNE: Pester-power is the powerful instrument through which apparel brand Weekender sees its growth spiralling. Govind Mirchandani, president and CEO, Personality, the Bangalore-based parent of Weekender, said the 30 crore population of under 14-year-olds has tremendous "pester power" which Weekender Kids is looking to tap. Four-12 year olds who represent Weekender Kids' target audience, are a Rs 400 crore market. Seeking to re-position Weekender, the line for 15-20-year-olds, as a fashion label rather than street wear, Mr Mirchandani said they will launch sports and party wear lines for young males in this age group.

SMC Investments and Advisors is of the view that investors with a long-term horizon can invest in the initial public offering of Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri. The gold and diamond jewellery retailer will debut on the primary market on Tuesday to raise between Rs 200 crore and Rs 210 crore by issuing shares in the price band of Rs 120-126 per share of a face value of Rs 10 each. "The fundamentals of the company look average. It has a long presence in the retail jewellery business resulting in a strong brand recall.

KR Chokey Research has recommended investors to 'avoid' the initial public offering of Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ), which will hit the primary market Tuesday to raise Rs 210 crore. The brokerage said the IPO is priced on the higher side compared to peers. "The annualized earnings on diluted equity for FY12E is Rs 10.1 valued at a P/E of 11.9-12.5x. We believe the company is priced on the higher side with peers trading at P/E of 4-7x FY12E earnings. Hence we recommend to 'avoid' the issue," a KR Chokey report said.

LONDON: The 'Taste of Britain Curry Festival' is all set to travel to the home of curries, India, with leading British chefs aiming to recreate an exclusive selection of dishes that have become a hit in the European country. Beginning on August 23 at Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kolkata , the festival will see seven British chefs produce as many as 70 dishes including high street favourites like British Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb chops with plum and coriander sauce and Bengal Lancers shrimp curry.

In a measure of things to come, high street rental prices in Chandigarh have crashed through the roof, matching those in Mumbai's Marine Drive or the Greater Kailash in Delhi. Chandigarh's Sector 17 is set to become the 'destination high street' , say realtors. Moving away from being run by private entrepreneurs the Central Business District (CBD) is set to become a hub of international company run branded stores. "Demand for space from large super markets is the reason behind high rentals, more so with limited space availability.

PUNE: Are some retailers merely being contrarian or is there a move away from the current mall frenzy? The reality is that some retailers are preferring the good old high street over glass and steel malls. "The footfall to sale conversion is very low in a mall, primarily because a mall is an entertainment destination and shopping is low on priority," said Aloke Banerjee, CEO, Carmichael House of Total Home Expressions, a division of S Kumar's Nationwide Ltd. For Carmichael House, there is an even more significant reason to stay away from malls: if the anchor tenant is a discount store, it is difficult to retain a premium positioning as Carmichael House has positioned itself.

NEW DELHI: Ever since the mall culture crept in and malls presented themselves as lucrative retail environs, restaurant owners are divided on whether to set up shop within malls or to opt for high streets. However, there are examples galore that increasingly, restaurants outside malls are pipping those within them in the revenue stakes. And if some players are to be believed, malls' high operational costs (rentals and ancillary costs) are impacting feasibility of restaurants, driving them away.